Things That Weren't
by ambertiger666
Summary: Have you ever noticed how so many characters have names that start with L? While I did! And then I drunkenly came up with this...lots of little what ifs. Help me come up with a title? LoVe, DuVe implied LiVe HaLo, WeeVer


**A/N:** I have no idea if this is crap or not. Seriously...usually I know when I'm posting something just because, or when I actually think something in it might be worth saving, but I have no idea with this. Still I kinda love it, and I wrote it so long ago that it was either post it or give up on it, so I thought posting it here would be a good medium, since I've posted both types of works on before, and if you hate it, at least it doesn't come with a link to my own personal blog. **Not all of these blurbs are meant to be connected.** Also, I meant to put Liam in somewhere, but I just couldn't come up wth anything. Maybe, if I ever post this anywhere else, I'll figure something out then. Anyone have a good idea for a title?

**Disclaimer:** Obviously, I own nothing, and no one here. Please review!

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**Lessons **

_Lilly_

Standing by the door waiting for her dad to come back must have gotten boring because there she is in the doorway: the daughter of the man her mom is currently yelling at. Beneath blonde bangs, she peaks into Veronica's house worridly, and Veronica can't help but smile at her.

Something smashes in the room next door and their winces are like sisters.

Veronica makes up her mind to like her.

"Wanna go play outside with my doggy?" The girl looks interested, but still she cranes her head as if to try and see through walls.

"My dad..."

"Your dad is gonna take awhile," she says knowingly, because afterall she knows- this is the girl who lives in the giant house.

_Leo_

She's 13 and stranded because her dad was supposed to drive her home from the police station, and he isn't there.

"You're Veronica, aren't you?" A twenty-something deputy peers down at her as if she's a kindergardner.

"I'm 13," she says dryly and walks over to the payphone, "I can arrange my own ride."

He looks surprised before smirking knowingly. Her mom won't pick up, Lilly's at lessons of some sort she couldn't squeeze out of (and therefore can't wheedle her dad into giving her a ride), and Veronica can't think of anyone else to call, when the door opens behind them.

"That Keith Mars daughter?" another twenty-something asks the first.

_Lamb_

He keeps glancing over at her nervously during the ride.

He finally settles on saying, "Leo isn't usually like that you know".

"Like what?" she snaps, because she's not in the mood to be placated by anybody wearing a uniform today.

Lamb blushes brightly, but continues, "I was his mentor when he was your age...only three or four years ago. He's just trying to be more like me." To her confused look he replies, "He was just trying on the uniform to see how it would fit." Veronica looks aghast.

"You mean he's not really a deputy?"

"No, he's not really a deputy just yet." Lamb smiles at her. "You'll keep this between us, won't you?"

"Fine," she says getting out of the car, "but you owe me." The door slambs behind her.

_Logan_

"So...am I more than just the girl who's dating your best-friend now?" she asks, bringing her fingers down in an intricate dance that makes the characters on the screen fall in a spectacular show of blood. She had overheard Logan describing her as thus when two new kids in the class asked him if he knew her.

She'd been waiting to kick his ass since.

"C'mon Ronnie, you know you've always been more than Duncan's girl to me," he says without missing a beat in the game.

"Are they calling me Duncan's girl already? I've only been dating him for a week."

"Yeah well-" he starts, but then his character keels over dead.

"Duncan teach you those moves? I always lose to him."

She nods grinning. "Duncan taught me that."

**Loss**

_Lianne_

Veronica and Lilly tiptoe towards her room.

The woman passed out on the couch could hardly notice the sound of a firetruck running over her.

"So, your mom huh?"

"Yeah," Veronca nods too quickly and wipes suspiciosly at her eyes. Lilly decides it might be time to change the subject.

"I never thought I'd see you again boy!" she squels affectionatly at the pitbull who just noticed the smell of food on her hand. Lilly turns towards Veronica meaningfully. "I'm _so_ glad we met again in class. I've missed you...we can renew our best-friendship vow!"

Veronica nods smiling and they hug.

They don't talk about the woman lying on the couch again, but she's still there when Lilly leaves 4 hours later.

_Lily_

Veronica watches Lynn Echolls watch Lilly with a weird expression on her face before backing up slowly and leaving the room.

"Lilly?" Veronica asks, weirded out.

Lilly had her face in her science book trying to figure out what the hell their project was supposed to be on (and taking notes on who best could do it for her) when Lynn had entered and left the room.

"Hmmmm"

"I don't think she saw me notice- which is weird, in of in itself- but Logan's mom just came in and walked out of here as soon as she saw you."

Lilly looked up and her face noticibly whitened.

"Oh?" she finally seems to decide on. "She probably just found that condom me and Logan lost when we had sex in the pool."

"Ew, gross Lilly."

_Lynn_

"HOW MUCH LONGER DO I HAVE TO LIVE, DOCTOR?"

"Mrs. Echolls if you would just calm down-"

"NO! NOTHING will change if I "just calm down"! I just want to know how much longer I have to live!"

"A month, maybe two..."

"And how much of that can I actually spend living?

He doesn't have to answer; the look on the doctor's face gives it all away.

"I'm not strong enough to let my so- my loved ones see that."

**Laughter**

**Lust**

_Lizzy_

Lizzy tried to stop herself from looking at her parents, but she couldn't. They looked...happy. At their daughter's funeral. Lizzy felt sick.

If she hadn't been as wild, she can't help thinking, maybe they wouldn't have turned into the Bible thumpers they are today. She glances over at Duncan Kane and makes a descision. If he doesn't gain custudy of Lilly then she'll make sure her parents can't punish another child for her sins.

Lizzy smiles through her tears.

_Logan_

"It's gonna be like you were never even there."

Logan raises another beer to his mouth watching Veronica and Duncan cuddle on the couch.

"Shut up, Lilly."

"What? It's not like I'm not in the same predicament only with a lot more people."

"Not to any of the people you care about."

Lilly doesn't answer and Logan doesn't care. He watches Dick and Beav's new stepmom walk in her new house with a disgusted look on her face. She surveys the remains of her living room looking increasingly frustrated, and then spots him.

Even though Lilly is gone now he can't help but smirk.

"I'll be in the bedroom if you want something to watch, Lils," Logan slurs, and follows Mrs. Casablancas to her room.

**Like**

_Luke_

Luke watched his new friend tag after Logan, and tried not to be jealous.

Afterall just about the only thing they had in common was being new...and therefore constantly ending up paired off in class together. Maybe the girl who volunteered to help them catch up to Neptune's curriculum could be his ticket to making new friends. Maybe his new friend wasn't worth it anyway. Maybe...

"Hey," Sean yelled, trying to be heard over the roar the other kids made in the cafeteria, "Logan! Wait up!"

Logan slowed, but not stopped.

"I saw you looking at the girl sitting next to Duncan's sister...do you know her? Me and Luke are supposed to work on a project with her in English class, but-"

"She's nothing to me," Logan said vehemetly, "Just the girl dating my best-friend. Now is there something else you wanted? I'm kinda in a hurry," he snapped.

"No, no nothing at all," Luke finishes for Sean, dragging him away. Logan was scary when he's angry.

(and Luke still wants his friend alive, if possible)

_Lauren Sinclair_

Watching Madison repeatedly wander off to gossip was getting more and more frustrating. It was her friend's funeral for god's sake! She had supposedly dragged her here to this godawful meeting of 09'er parents for moral support, but Lauren knew what she really wanted was secrets.

Lauren was good for getting secrets. No one ever noticed Madison Sinclair's cutsie, plain jain little sister.

But everyone always noticed Madison Sinclair (and no one ever noticed their e-mails had been hacked into either, but that was another story).

Up ahead of her, the sad parents of the dead pregnant girl (and how awful would that be, she thought, to be pregnant and full of a future one minute, and dead from a blood clot the next?) kept rather loudly (harshly) whispering of 'new beginnings' and 'starting from scratch' making their dead daughter's baby sound more and more like a non-alchoholic drink at one of her mother's old AA meetings, and less like an actual baby.

Lauren had never actually drank before, but she thought she could use a drink as she walked away rolling her eyes.

No one ever changed. Their addictions only changed. And she needed to find something juicy to satisfy Madision if she wanted to keep her off her back this week.

Walking foward quickly to get away, she was graced with an odd picture as Madison brushed past two blonde 02'ers, their blonde 02'er son, and...the girl who looked a lot like Lauren did and had the same favorite book.

Lauren smiled. As good as she was at getting secrets, she was even better at keeping one.

**Love**

_Lilly_

Veronica's head lay on Lilly's shoulder as she cried her heart out over something her mother had said while drunk. Eventually she quiets down and Lilly rocks her back and forth desperately trying to think of soothing things to say.

This was not in her repertoire; she has never had to comfort before, and thinking of the elder Ms. Mars only makes her want to scream and throw things and tell her what a selfish bitch she is for putting herself before her daughter. What a selfish bitch all Neptune mothers are...she will not draw comparisons, Lilly tells herself, she will not.

Veronica deserves better than that (and she's a much better daughter anyway).

Eventually she just settles on truths.

"Do you really believe that, Lilly? Do you really believe we'll always be best-friends?" Veronica asked breathily, trying not to choke, "because now that I have you, I don't think I could stand losing you too."

"Don't worry," Lilly said quietly, "I am far too fabulous to ever lose as good a friend as you." She does not add 'and I'm yours as long as you'll have me,' but the truth of it lingers in the air anyway.

_Letty Navarro_

Watching the blond, blue-eyed girl enter the kitchen, she goes to follow.

Lilly stands by the sink and to her surprise, looks her dead in the eye.

"He loves me," she says, not clarifying who. "I don't- I don't wish to hurt him."

"Then you'll set him free?" Lilly nods.

Lilly does not let the older woman see her as she wipes at her eyes and picks up the phone lying on the counter.

_Lianne_

Lianne closes her eyes and imagines herself standing in the back of a big, opulent church. Before her a beautiful blonde girl walks down the aisle towards the nervous dark eyed boy standing by the church's ancient minister. She imagines she can already spot a small bump growing beneath the willowy bride's ironic dress.

She imagines there is only one member of the bridal party representing the groom as his last living and sane friend. The girl who never go the guts to make a move on him.

She imagines her daughter's dress is ugly pink tafeta.

As the bride and groom share their first dance as husband and wife (and mother and father), she imagines the groom's eyes search for the pink tafeta dress, draped on the arm of a much poorer (but perhaps better) dark-eyed boy. She imagines he will find her. Eventually. Or she will find him. It doesn't matter, either way, years will fade away, and their love will stay constant and mocking. One day, the two will give into that love.

And then her daughter will understand. Then Veronica will forgive her.

Lianne smiles. She cuts out the newspaper article with relish.

_If the accident will_, she thinks, _this'll be something to show her grand-daughter one day_


End file.
